"Congratulations, brother! You're really something."
"Yeah, you're the second person to break the record tonight. Finally, it's not just number eight winning everything."
"Indeed, it's a relief to finally hear someone else win a bid. Brother, ignore what others are saying. I think you have great vision. This painting is full of artistic flair; it's bound to appreciate in value."
Hearing so many compliments, the man forced back his pained expression and began to thank them with a grin.
Spending three million on a painting of a plug—no one could understand the bitterness in his heart right now...
Just as he was about to resign himself to fate, the last person's words reignited his hope.
Mr. Yuan looked with pleasant surprise at the person who had praised his vision.
What surprised him even more was that he remembered this person had also been frantically raising his paddle just now.
Combining what the man said with his previous actions...
The other party was very likely interested in this painting.
It was just that his own hand had been 'itchy' and followed the bidding, accidentally snatching the item from him.
Thinking this, Mr. Yuan immediately asked anxiously, "Brother, actually, I was just bidding for fun earlier. I remember I only followed after you raised your paddle, and I noticed you raised it more than once. This shows how much you love this painting. How about I transfer it to you? It's not my wish to take what others love; this painting should stay with someone who knows how to appreciate it."
After speaking, seeing a hint of hesitation on the other's face, Mr. Yuan immediately added, "Don't worry, I won't make you pay the difference. How about the price you last bid?"
The other party's expression became even more awkward.
He had the same idea as Mr. Yuan.
Thinking that Mr. Yuan really loved this painting, and in order to disparage Jiang Cheng's opinion, he had praised it against his conscience.
He said awkwardly, "This... brother, to be honest, I was also just bidding for fun. I have no interest in this plug at all..."
After the man said this, Mr. Yuan's face immediately darkened.
Just now he said it was full of artistic flair, and now he calls it a plug.
These people are really hypocritical. Complimenting him on the surface, while probably laughing at him for being a fool inside?
Seeing he couldn't offload the painting, Mr. Yuan took his anger out on the man. "What plug? Do you even know how to appreciate art? This painting is called 'Correspondence'. You don't have an artistic bone in your body, just talking nonsense here..."
Scolded for no reason, the man didn't take it lying down and retorted, "If you have so much artistic bone, then hurry up and take it home to enjoy. Why are you acting so pained here?"
Both were hot-tempered and started bickering... Fortunately, they were both people who cared about their reputation, so even in their anger, they didn't shout.
Although the volume was kept low, it still drew side-glances from many people.
Jiang Cheng and the others didn't know what was happening in the back rows.
With Li Zewei, Planning Department Manager's help, Jiang Cheng felt very relaxed now.
At Wang Congcong's suggestion, the two of them went into silent mode and prepared to play a game together.
Jiang Cheng put his arm around Yu Xiaoxiao, leaning on her fragrant shoulder, and said to Wang Congcong next to him, "Wait a second, I'll invite someone."
Seeing Jiang Cheng holding Yu Xiaoxiao, Wang Congcong felt a surge of envy.
If Yu Xiaoxiao weren't Jiang Cheng's woman, he would have hit on such a top-tier beauty long ago.
At this moment, Wang Congcong's gaze tactfully skipped over Yu Xiaoxiao and focused on Jiang Cheng's face, asking, "The Girl we played with before?"
Jiang Cheng replied without hiding anything, "Yeah, Little Crispy."
"Alright, that Girl looks good. I've been to her stream. I originally wanted to poach her for my streaming company, but my company has been having some issues lately..."
Jiang Cheng knew about the situation with Wang Congcong's company.
Hearing him mention it, he followed up, "Didn't your company just complete Series B funding a few months ago?"
Speaking of this, Wang Congcong seemed to have a headache.
He leaned in and whispered angrily to Jiang Cheng, "Speaking of that makes me mad. After the Series B, a few capital firms joined, and they've been secretly pushing me out lately. If this keeps up, the company is doomed sooner or later."
After Wang Congcong finished, Jiang Cheng recalled the series of reasons why Panda TV went bankrupt.
The main reason their company started to decline was indeed the chaotic internal equity structure after the Series B funding.
The original shareholders of their company had been in internal strife all along.
Like Yuanshi Capital, Leshi, and Qihu 360, the three major shareholders had been fighting for management control from the start.
Amidst such chaos, they went through Series B funding.
And the Series B was funded by Xingzheng Capital, Hanfu Capital, and Woken Capital.
After they joined Panda TV, the three-way battle turned into a six-way battle.
Moreover, they had been using various dirty tactics to force out Wang Congcong and the original management team.
Coupled with later funding issues, Panda TV began its decline.
Jiang Cheng said casually, "In the end, it's all about management control. Just achieve management independence."
After making a casual remark, he sat up straight and started summoning Little Crispy on wechat.
Suddenly summoned by Jiang Cheng, Little Crispy quickly replied, saying she would get online immediately.
Last time she asked Jiang Cheng to meet up at the Shanghai Comic-Con, Jiang Cheng had refused her, saying he wanted to meet privately.
But due to the high number of viewers in the stream, Little Crispy didn't agree.
So, the matter of meeting up was dropped.
Since then, Jiang Cheng hadn't looked for her to play games.
Although she would occasionally send greetings to Jiang Cheng on wechat,
Jiang Cheng rarely replied to her, and she thought she had offended a big shot.
She didn't expect Jiang Cheng to suddenly summon her today.
Even though she had already been streaming for eight hours today?
She still fought off her sleepiness and immediately went online to prepare for the stream.
After all, Jiang Cheng's reputation on Huya was now even greater than hers.
As long as the stream title was 'Being a bush dog for Lord Sea God,' she was bound to receive a huge wave of popularity.
Seeing Jiang Cheng sit up, Wang Congcong couldn't very well lean past Yu Xiaoxiao to talk to him.
Left with no choice, he also sat up straight and focused on playing with his phone.
Yu Xiaoxiao also started leaning on Jiang Cheng's shoulder out of boredom, watching him play the game.
Because many of the items at the scene were either art or antiques, she wasn't interested in any of them.
Seeing Yu Xiaoxiao looking at his phone, Jiang Cheng didn't try to hide it.
After all, the Danger Perception Skill hadn't given any warnings.
This indicated the current situation was very safe.
If Zhou Ying, Qiao Yinyin, Wang Yuyan, Xia Meng, or Lin Qingxue were to message him, Jiang Cheng believed the Danger Perception Skill should have sensed it in advance.
Seeing Little Crispy call Jiang Cheng 'Sea God Daddy' in the game,
Yu Xiaoxiao looked at Jiang Cheng with her seductive eyes and asked with interest, "Sea God... Daddy? This title seems quite interesting. How does she know you're a Sea King?"
Seeing Yu Xiaoxiao teasing him, Jiang Cheng pinched her cheek. "You're quite bold, daring to call me a Sea King. I'll let you feel the power of a Sea King when we get back later."
Yu Xiaoxiao's body couldn't help but stiffen upon hearing this, but she didn't back down. Instead, she leaned closer to Jiang Cheng and asked, "I've always been curious, where did you practice those skills with your hands? How are you so good at it?"